Sarah Palin under fire from pro-abolition rights group

Published: Saturday, January 30, 2010, 16:49 [IST]

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Washington, Jan 30 (ANI): Sarah Palin has come under fire from the National Organization for Women (NOW) after she criticised the group for calling on CBS to pull a Super Bowl advert featuring Tim Tebow.

The advert shows Tebow and his mum Pam talking about her decision not to terminate a difficult pregnancy in 1987. Pam give birth to the baby against her doctors' recommendations and the child grew up to be the Heisman-trophy winning University of Florida quarterback, considered by many as the best college football player in a generation.

Several groups advocating abortion rights asked CBS to pull the advert, funded by the conservative group Focus on the Family. Its opponents, including NOW, say the advert does not fit in with the network's longstanding tradition of not airing controversial spots during sports events.

Earlier this week Palin, a vocal opponent of abortion rights, said in post on her Facebook page that NOW's opposition to the advert put the group in a "ridiculous situation."

Palin, praised NOW for its work calling out "advertisers and networks for airing sexist and demeaning portrayals of women," but added that "NOW is looking at the pro-life issue backwards."

"My message to these groups who are inexplicably offended by a pro-woman, pro-child, pro-life message airing during the Super Bowl: please concentrate on empowering women, help with efforts to prevent unexpected pregnancies, stay consistent with your message that for too long women have been made to feel like sex objects in our 'modern' culture and that we can expect better in 2010," the Politico quoted Palin, as writing.

Palin ended her Facebook note saying: "And CBS: just do the right thing. Don't cave. Have the backbone to run the ad."

However, NOW President Terry O'Neill believes Palin is "missing our point."

She said: "The goal of the Focus on the Family ad is not to empower women. It's to create a climate in which Roe v. Wade can be overturned," O'Neill said. "There are always going to be women who need abortions. In this country, one in three women will have an abortion.

"Focus on the Family has cynically set it up so they can say anyone who disagrees with airing this ad is disrespecting one woman and her choice. NOW respects every woman's right to plan her own family and insists our laws do the same."

As a response to Palin's missive, O'Neill write: "And CBS: Do the right thing. Pull the ad. Let's focus on the game." (ANI)